Surface cleaning unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

Described embodiments include an unmanned aerial vehicle and a method. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes an airframe and a rotary wing system coupled with the airframe and configured to aerodynamically lift the vehicle in the air. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a flight controller configured to control a movement of the vehicle while airborne. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a cleansing controller configured to manage a removal of a surface contaminant from a selected portion of a surface of an external object using an airflow generated by the rotary wing system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
 a rotary wing system configured to aerodynamically lift the vehicle in the air; 
 a flight controller configured to control a movement of the vehicle while airborne; 
 a surface contaminant sensor configured to measure a contamination state of a surface; and 
 a cleansing controller configured to manage a removal of a surface contaminant from a selected portion of a surface of an external object using an airflow generated by the rotary wing system and based on data acquired by the surface contaminant sensor; 
 wherein measuring the contamination state of the surface occurs prior to an initial removal of the surface contaminant; and 
 wherein the cleansing controller is configured to:
 determine an airflow force sufficient to dislodge the surface contaminant; 
 direct only a portion of a total airflow generated by the rotary wing system at the selected portion of the surface based on the determined airflow force; and 
 select the direction of the portion of the airflow based on data from the surface contaminant sensor. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the surface contaminant sensor is configured to measure a size or characteristic of particles located on a portion of the surface of the external object. 
     
     
       3. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the surface contaminant sensor includes an optical sensor. 
     
     
       4. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the surface contaminant sensor includes an ultrasound sensor. 
     
     
       5. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the surface contaminant sensor includes a polarized light source and an optical sensor configured to detect at least one of a presence or an amount of diffuse reflection of polarized light by the surface, the polarized light first emitted by the polarized light source. 
     
     
       6. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the flight controller is responsive to an instruction from the cleansing controller to direct at least a portion of the airflow generated by the rotary wing system at a selected portion of the surface with sufficient force to dislodge the surface contaminant. 
     
     
       7. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the flight controller is configured to control a cleaning route of the vehicle relative to the selected portion of the surface in response to a record of a previous cleaning activity. 
     
     
       8. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the flight controller controls a cleaning route taken by the unmanned aerial vehicle based on a characteristic of the surface contaminant measured by the surface contaminant sensor. 
     
     
       9. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the rotary wing system includes a helicopter, quad-copter, or quad-rotor configuration. 
     
     
       10. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the rotary wing system includes a protective structure to decrease any damage caused by a contact between the rotary wing system and the external object. 
     
     
       11. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the rotary wing system includes a duct which partially surrounds at least a portion of the rotary wing system. 
     
     
       12. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the external object includes a solar panel. 
     
     
       13. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the external object includes an exterior window of a building or other stationary structure. 
     
     
       14. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the external object includes a component of an electrical power transmission line. 
     
     
       15. The vehicle of  claim 1 , wherein the external object includes a mirror or an array of mirrors.